Korea Resources Corp. (KORES), led by Acting President Park Sung-ha, decided to adopt a “peak salary” system for its entire employees and members of the management, the company said.
Both the management and labor union of the company agreed to adopt the system, which has been applied to those who want to have salaries based on the system. The plan is in line with the government’s recommendation to take up the new salary system.
But the decision to adopt the system did not come easily. The team tasked with the introduction of the salary system held a number of sessions to explain it to staff in an attempt to persuade the entire company to adopt the system. Management and the union met a number of times to discuss the issue, and ended up agreeing on an early normalization of the company’s operation. The two sides finally came to an agreement only recently following extended hard bargaining.
The new salary system requires those who are eligible for retirement in two years to have their salaries frozen, with the company’s retirement age set at 60 years (61 years under the Western system). Their salaries will be readjusted downward to 80 percent of their salaries in the first year of retirement age and further to 60 percent in the second year.
The company will have 17 employees up for retirement in 2017, 23 in 2018, 29 in 2019 and 30 in 2020, totaling 106 in the next five years.
KORES’s management said the money saved from the new system will be used to hire nine new, young employees next year.
In the meantime, the company signed a joint disaster rescue agreement with five other state-owned organizations relocated to Wonju, Gangwon Province, on Oct. 15, including Korea Tourism Organization; Korea Red Cross; Korea Coal Corp.; Korea Reclamation Corp.; and Korea Veterans Health Service Corp. The signing took place at the Korea Tourism Organization head office. The agreement requires all signatories to cooperate in times of emergency, mobilizing all of their resources to the joint rescue efforts to minimize damages through effective coping with crises. The six companies that signed the joint agreement will come to each others’ aid if a crisis breaks out.
KORES opened its “Wonju age” on July 1 completing its relocation from Seoul in a ceremony held at its new office building. Some 300 people participated, led by Rep. Lee Kang-hoo, Mayor Won Chang-mook of Wonju and other dignitaries and local residents.
KORES has been doing its job, which is to supply industrial raw materials and mineral resources needed for the development of the national economy, for the past 48 years since its launching in 1967. One of its major jobs includes exploration and development of natural resources through various means including direct investment, along with the development of technologies and providing financial support and reserve of natural resources.
Since its founding in 1967, KORES has sought to secure a stable supply of raw materials and energy resources for Korea’s economic development.
The new Wonju HQ has two basement floors and 15 above-ground floors (site area of 32,600 square meters, a construction area of 33,458 square meters). KORES broke ground on the new site in Nov. 2011, finished construction in May 2015 and completed the relocation of 550 staff a month later.
This new government building boasts cutting-edge eco-friendly building technology with an energy supply rate of more than 15 percent, and uses first-grade energy efficiency and intelligent building design as well as high-efficiency LED lighting and solar cell technology.
Regional businesses performed 47 percent of the construction work to boost the economy of both the city and province.
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